Christmas: Rats shut Colwyn Bay school until new year

Pupils at Eirias High School will return to class on 10 January

A rat infestation which cancelled a school's Christmas concert will keep children out of school for the rest of term.

Pupils at Eirias High School in Colwyn Bay, Conwy county, were due to perform on Thursday but reports of rats in abandoned toilets prevented this.

The school has been closed since Friday while children learn from home.

Head teacher Sarah Sutton said further cleaning is required and pupils will return to school on Tuesday 10 January.

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Parents were sent a letter last week informing them about evidence of rodent activity in three classrooms in one block of the school.

Experts said this activity would have been exacerbated by the cold weather.

One teacher who wanted to remain anonymous described the school as "filthy", adding: "Rats have run across classrooms with pupils there, there have been rat droppings on chairs and tables, walls, computer keyboards."

In a letter, parents were told on Monday that enhanced cleaning measures had been sued over the weekend, which revealed "no further rodent activity".

"It is important that the school is able to re-open with full confidence for staff, learners and for you as parents and carers," it said.

"For this reason, the school will continue to engage with pest control experts and in turn the industrial cleaners over the next three days prior to and including, the Christmas break.

"The building will be monitored by pest control over the course of the holiday period and industrially cleaned prior to school re-opening."

The school's Christmas concert will be rescheduled in the new year.

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